Maximum capacity drop bottom mine car



Jan. 18, 1955 RA. SHIELDS MAXIMUM CAPACITY DROP BOTTOM MINE CAR,

4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Nov. 21, 1951 INVENTOR ImH lI Jan. 18, 1955 R. A. SHIELDS MAXIMUM CAPACITY DROP BOTTOM MINE CAR 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Nov. 21, 1951 INVENTOR Jan. 18, 1955 R. A. SHIELDS MAXIMUM CAPACITY DROP BOTTOM MINE CAR 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Nov. 21, 1951 INVENTOR Jan. 18, 1955 F'iled NOV. 21, 1951 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 mml United States Patent Industries, Incorporated, tion of New Jersey Application November 21, 1951, Serial No. 257,509 19 Claims. (Cl; 105-364) This inventionvrelates to .mine cars in general but in particular to large capacity automatically dumping drop bottom cars.

Track gauges, tunnelwidthsand heights vary greatly throughout the mining industry and it is' always advisable to obtain the maximum capacity possible without in any way modifying either the track gauge or tunnel clearances. It is also desirable to avoid wherever possible special dumping stations and to carry the standard rails across the dumping pit so that the locomotive or other haulage equipment may move freely past thedumping station. In mines where a narrowtrack gauge is used, it is extrernely hard to obtain large capacity cars which can be dumped between the rails. Itis an object therefore of the present invention to increase the capacityof drop bottom cars while giving complete discharge of lading between the running rails.

A further object of the invention a large capacity drop of longitudinally and transversely swinging doors automatically controlled preferably by one of thedoorsi.

is the provision of A still further object of the invention is thelprovision of a large capacity drop bottom mine car having the'load carrying sills located outsidethe wheels and rail line, but aplurality of doors closing having the bottom closed by the space between the sills yet adapted to discharge wholly between the standard track rails;

A still further object of the invention is the provision of a large capacity mine car of thedrop bottom-type which is effectively sealed against dust leakage' onto the trackway.

A yet further object of the inventioniis the-provision of a large capacity drop bottom mine car having a pluralityof transversely swinging doors controlled by longi tudinally swinging doors.

These and other objects of the invention will be apparent to persons skilled in the art from a study of the follolwing description and accompanying drawings, in whic assigilor to ACE NewYork, N. Y., a corpora bottom mine car having a plurality Figs. 1 and 2 taken together disclose alongitudinah section and side view of the entlre car;

Figs. 3 and 4 taken together disclose a plan view of substantially one-half the car;

Fig.5 is a sectional view taken substantially on line 5-5 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 6 is an end view showing one form of latch control;

Fig. 7 is a partial perspective view showing .-the relation of the car parts and doors in one of the forward corners of the car; and t Fig. 8 is a similar tionship of the doors car.

Referring now to the drawings in detail it. willbe seen that the car is a rear end wall R, and that these end walls are joined together by longitudinally extending vertical side walls 2 and fixed inclined side walls 4. The fixed side walls 4 perspective view showing the relaat one of the rear corners of the rest upon and are connected .to an inclined flange 6 of lower flange 8 of the sill element and adapted to supporta down' side sills are joined together by end structures E, which not only serve to reenforce the end walls but are necessary in order to receive the draft and buffing force's-to which the car is subjected :in. transit.

of substantially one-half. the car provided with a front end wall F and As clearly shown; the

2. sills are located outwardly of the wheels W and outwardly' of the track T and have attached to their inner surface axle bores 10. These boxes are adapted to straddle the ends of the axle A and preferably have the bottom portion '12 removable so that the entire Wheel and axle assembly maybe dropped out of the car for repair and replacement by merely dropping the doors later to be referred to. In order to house the Wheels and axles, box shaped wheel housings are provided having sloping top surfaces 14 and vertically extending side walls 16 disposed fore and aft of the wheel and joined together by a longitudinally extending vertical inner wall 18. The longitudinally extending inneror vertical walls are joined together by axle and door housingsZl), which are preferably welded to the inner walls 18 and gusseted'thereto by plates 19. The car thus constitutes a rigid frame havingwidely spaced side sills located outside of the track and together with the end structures enclosing a space wholly unobstructed except by the wheel hoods and axle housings.

The space enclosed by'the end structures and side walls is adapted to be closed by a series of doors. Certain of these doors are adapted to swing longitudinally of the car about transversely extending axes and may be designated as a forward door 21, door 23. The door 21 is adapted to swing about a pivot rod 24 extending between the side sills and supported thereby by means of brackets 25 welded or otherwise secured to the lower surface of sill flange 8; It will. be obvious, of course, that if desired the forward edge of this door be inclined upwardly to'place the hinge axis above the sill flange. Middle door 22 and rear door 23 are pivotally mounted on hingerods 26 extending between and supported by the inner vertical wall 18 of the wheel hoods. These longimdinally swinging doors are of similar construction having in general a main fiat portion inctining upwardly and rearwardly, as at 28, to either rest upon the forward edge of the next rearward door or in the case of door 23 is supported on a hook 30 connected to the tripping mechanism P. The flat central portion of each of these doors is reenforced by a plurality of upstanding bars 32, the outermost ofwhich are located closely adjacent and paralleling the innerwall-l8 of each wheel hood. The plate portion of each door extends outwardly beyond the outer stiffening bars 32 to provide extensions 34. As clearly shown in Figs. l, 2, 3, and 8, the extensionson doors 23, however, the exbarelyl clear the track. T in their downwardly swingingmovement, and, in fact, are so close to the track that the lower inner flange may have to be removed from the rail at the dumping stations, all as clearly shown. in Fig. 5.

In order to close the space between the edges of the longitudinally swinging doors and the side sills a plurality of transversely swinging doors 41, 42, and 43 are located respectively adjacent the front, middle, and rear portion of the car and on opposite sides of the doors 21, 22, and 23. These transversely swinging doors have their outer edges rolled around for pivotal movementon a rod or series of rods 44 carried by straps 46' welded oroth'en wise secured to the vertical and horizontal legs of the angular shaped sills S. The transversely swinging doors have their side edges, which are located adjacent the wheel hoods, flanged upwardly, as at48,"to stiffen the door and to fit up insidetheside walls 16 of the wheel hoods, thus preventing any dust leakagelat' this point. The forward edge of'door 41 *will' fit up closely and extend beyond the downwardly and inwardlyinclined wall 50 of the forward end structure E. Door 43 will have its rear edge portion inclined upwardly and rearwardly to provide a triangular portion 52 lying when the doors are"closedsubstantially in the plane or parallel to the* plaue'-of inclined portion '28 of door 23 The edge V ofthisFtriangular portion-52 is reenforced by an' upwardly middle door 22, and rear 21 and 22 will, at'their rear edges, be weldedor otherwise secured directly .to

and 22- Will be located substanextend upwardly and extending flange 54 thus etfectivelyrealing the end against leakage, all as clearly shown 1n Figs. 3 and 8. The inner or free edge of doors 41, 42, and 43 rest upon and are controlled by extensions 34 of doors 21, 22, and 23 respectively.

The height and placement of the sills S is so chosen that the doors 41, 42, and 43 when open and in contact with the upper surface of track T will have a slope sufiicient to completely discharge the material flowing thereover. Thus the location of the hinge rods 44 will be determined by the track gauge and the coefficient of friction of the lading on the doors. In cases where greatest capacity is imperative, the sills S may be made lower than shown by providing box section or similar sills, thus permitting lowering of fixed wall 4.

It is believed that the operation will be obvious from the preceding description of structure. However, assuming that the doors are all in the closed position as shown in full lines throughout the various views it will be seen that by tripping the down pressure arm of mechanism P the hook 30 will be moved out of supporting engagement with door 23. This door 23 will swing downwardly about its pivot rod 26 and in so doing will allow its associated pair of doors 43 to gradually move downwardly until they contact the top surface of the track T, as shown in line and dot, Fig. 5. Downward swinging movement of 23 Will, as is customary, automatically release door 22 and it in turn will automatically release door 21. Their downward movement, of course, will automatically lower the associated pairs of doors 42 and 41. With the doors in the dumping position, doors 21, 22, and 23 will be hanging substantially vertically giving unobstructed passageway for lading, and the doors 41, 42, and 43 will be inclined downwardly and inwardly from the sills to the top of the track T, so as to deflect the material into the central opening made by the longitudinally swinging doors. During movement of the car against the door closing ramp the door 21 will be lifted and during its lifting by the ramp it will, through its extensions 34, cause doors 41 to be lifted to their full line position, Fig. 5. The ramp will then, due to movement of the car, successively lift doors 22 and 23 and in unison therewith the associated doors 42 and 43. Finally, when door 23 is fully lifted, the hook 30 will automatically engage to hold this door closed. It will thus be seen that a plurality of longitudinally and transversely swinging doors are automatically co-related and inter-engaged so as to completely close the space between the side sills located exterior of the track and wheels, yet movable to dump the lading wholly between the rails. That the capacity of the cars is increased is evident due to the wider permissible placing of the sills. and due to the fact that the closed doors 41, 42, and 43 can be located at an angle less than the angle of repose of the material being carled.

While the invention has been described more or less in detail with specific reference to the drawings, it will be obvious that various modifications other than those shown and described mav be made without departing from the scope of the invention as defined by the following claims.

What is claimed is:

1. n a large capacity drop bottom mine car, in combination. axles, wheels on the axles adapted to run on track r ils. a substantially ri id frame including spaced side sills supported on the axles outside the wheels. and a pluralitv of doors hin edly mounted at one edge on the car and when closed havin the free edges thereof supported on portions of an adiacent door. said d ors closing the space betw en the side sills and adapted to swing downwardlv to dischar e lading between the track rails f m he area be een the side sills.

2. The structure of cl im 1 characterized in that cert io of said d ors swin bet een the rails lon itudinally of the car and thers of said doors swing downwardly transv r elv of the ear.

3. The tructure of claim 1 char cterized in that certain m s id d rs s i downwardlv between the rails nd lrmoitflriioa v of the car and others of said d o s swine: d wnwardlv transverselv of the car and have their free es nor llv slloo rted bv said certain doors,

A, The. structure of claim 1 char cterized in that certain a? mid lnnrs swing d mvarrllv between the rails l noi n inallv of the car and the remainder of s id do rs swing downwardly transversely of the car and when open are supported adjacent their free edges upon the track rails.

5. In a large capacity drop bottom mine car, in com bination, axles, wheels on the axles adapted to run on track rails, a substantially rigid frame supported on the axles and including end structures and side structures joined together and inclosing at their lower edges an area greater than the area bounded by the end structures and track rails, and a plurality of doors closing the area bounded by the side and end structures and swingable downwardly to discharge car lading in the area bounded by the end structures and track rails.

6. The structure of claim 5 characterized in that substantially the area bounded by said end structures and track rails is normally closed by longitudinally swinging drop bottom doors, and the remainder of the area bounded by the end and side structures is normally closed by transversely swinging drop bottom doors.

7. The structure of claim 5 characterized in that the area bounded by the end and side structures is normally closed by a first set of longitudinally swinging doors and a second set of transversely swinging doors automatically controlled by said first set of doors.

8. The structure of claim 5 characterized in that the area bounded by the end and side structures is normally closed by a first set of longitudinally swinging doors and a second set of transversely swinging doors automatically controlled by said first set, and latch means for one door of said first set controlling the movement of all said doors.

9. In a large capacity drop bottom mine car, in combination, axles, wheels on the axles adapted to run on track rails, a substantially rigid frame supported on the axles and including end structures and side structures joined together and inclosing at their lower edges a lading discharge space having an area greater than the area bounded by the end structures and track rails, wheel housings secured to said side structures and projecting inwardly therefrom into the lading discharge space and each including a longitudinally extending substantially vertical inner Wall and side Walls located closely adjacent the associated wheel, and drop bottom doors hingedly carried by said inner walls and swingable downwardly between the track rails.

10. In a large capacity drop bottom mine car, in combination, axles, wheels on the axles adapted to run on track rails, a substantially rigid frame including spaced side sills supported on the axles outside the wheels and providing a lading discharge space therebetween, wheel housings secured to the side sills and projecting inwardly of the car to cover the wheels, said housings including substantially vertical inner walls spaced inwardly from the side sills, and drop bottom doors hingedly carried carried by said inner walls inwardly of the side sills and adapted to swing downwardly longitudinally the car.

11. The structure of claim 10 characterized in that said doors are formed with vertically extending reenforcements overlapping the inner wall of the wheel housings and with lateral extensions projecting outwardly from the reenforcements toward the side sills and underlying portions of the wheel housings.

12. A drop bottom door for mine cars comprising a main portion located substantially in a single plane, a hinge element at one edge of the main portion, an upwardly inclined portion at the opposite edge of said main portion, a plurality of vertically extending reenforcements secured to said main portion and inclined portion, and extensions projecting from each of said portions laterally outward from the adjacent reenforcement to form the side edges of the door.

13. A drop bottom door for mine cars comprising a main portion located substantially in a single plane, a hinge element at one edge of the main portion, an upwardly inclined portion at the opposite edge of the main portion, a plurality of vertically extending reenforcements secured to the main portion and to the side edges of said inclined portion, and extensions forming the side edges of the door outwardly of said reenforcements and located substantially in the plane of said main portion throughout their length.

14. A drop bottom door for mine cars comprising a main portion located substantially in a sin le plane, a hinge element at one ed e of the main orti n. an upwardly inclined portion at the opposite edge of the main portion, a plurality of vertically extending reenforcements secured to the upper surface of the main portion and overlapping the side edges of said inclined portion, and extensions secured to the lower edges of said reenforcements and extending substantially from end to end thereof to form side edges for the door.

15. In a large capacity drop bottom mine car, in combination, axles, wheels on the axles adapted to run on track rails, a substantially rigid frame including spaced side sills supported on the axles outside the wheels, wheel housings secured to the side sills and projecting inwardly of the car to cover the wheels, said housings including substantially vertical inner walls spaced inwardly from the side sills, and a plurality of spaced doors hingedly carried by each side sill for downward rotation about substantially horizontal axes extending longitudinally of the car, said doors having their adjacent side edges spaced apart at the wheel hoods and their free edges extending substantially to the plane of said vertical inner walls.

16. The structure of claim 15 characterized in that the adjacent side edges of said doors are reenforced by vertically extending flanges directed upwardly inside the wheel hoods.

17. In a large capacity drop bottom mine car, in combination, axles, wheels on the axles adapted to run on track rails, a substantially rigid frame including members supported on the axles outside the wheels, at least two side doors hingedly carried by the members adjacent each side of the car and swingable downwardly toward the track rails about longitudinally extending axes, at least two center doors hingedly carried by the car and swingable downwardly between the track rails about transversely extending axes, and means to retain said doors in raised position and releasable to allow downward swinging movement of the doors.

18. The structure of claim 17 characterized in that the side doors have their hinge axes located outwardly of the wheels and their free edges in overlapping relation to the rails and to the side edges of said center doors.

19. The structure of claim 17 characterized in that each center door normally supports and controls the movements of a pair of side doors.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,263,283 Peterson Apr. 16, 1918 1,888,135 McCallen Nov. 15, 1932 1,908,015 Getaz May 9, 1933 2,567,604 Jones Sept. 11, 1951 

